Christmas Past

At our recent club match one of the lads turned up in carpet slippers. This reminded me of past winter matches. Percy and his brothers would always turn up in their slippers complete with trousers tucked into there socks. It was all the rage and if you think about it, it was not that silly as we did not have trainers in those days. You could not wear those great big socks with normal shoes and you could not drive in wellies so that's why the slippers were worn.
As a young lad wishing to fit in I tried to copy the oldies. So one Christmas I was oh so glad I got some new slippers so that I could wear my old ones to matches. The trouble was my ones had a rubber effigy of Donald duck protruding from the front of the slipper and my dad would not let me rip the head off so I got some awful stick at the draw! Sadly many of the jokers are no longer with us but one of the elder statesmen, Tony Phillips dined out on my misfortune for years.
This was at a time when a Satsuma in your Christmas stocking was a luxury along with a few nuts. We only had a coal fire in the sitting room and often I would wake up in the morning to look at my inside of the bedroom window frozen up with fantastic frost patterns. Life did get a lot better in my late teens, in the 70s we got a gas fire and a HI IF system!
Boxing day was best for me as we could leave all the arguments and go fishing. The steamed up kitchen could be left behind and I could try out my new gifts such as a heated hand warmer. It was a bit like a little insulated perse. You opened it up lit some sort of charcoal stick closed it up and the whole thing would act like a hot water bottle. Mind you if it came undone you ended up with a smoking pocket and a burnt hole in your trousers!
I had many boxing day adventures with my friend Percy right up until the early 90s when I got all posh and tended not to go fishing so much. Christmas with Percy was always a laugh.
Percy lived on Newmarket road opposite the five bells pub. The house was onto the street scene. You entered it from the front a long corridor which lead you past the front room and stairs into the middle sitting room from there was the kitchen and then the bathroom. The front room only got used on special occasions, was filled with family stuff and cut glass gifts.
I entered the house one dark cold boxing day, shouted out for percy and heard some groaning from upstairs.
The sitting room was utter carnage from the festivities the evening before. Half deflated balloons lay around great big long ones looking like half filled condoms, streamers, bottles, tinsel and food lay everywhere. I could see into the kitchen where a half eaten turkey sat hanging across the cooker almost falling off the edge. Sprouts, carrots and roast potatoes were platted up pots and pans were everywhere. The kettle was on steaming away. The on button held down by a butchers weight so it did not turn off and so the place filled with steam.
Percy emerged from the haze." Urgggh wun Summm". He was chomping on a turkey sandwich bits of meat flying out of his mouth as he spoke." Na mate" I replied.
Jimmy dog the little Yorkshire terrier was eager to get out. Like his master he liked to be outside and indeed in all weathers. Quite unusually this day Percy was organised. His tackle was in the hall ready to be loaded on the car. I looked across to the turkey and fancied the remnants of some crispy bacon but just as I went to scoff it this terrible smell wafted in the room. Too much turkey Jimmy! The dog looked at me cocked his head to one side ran down the corridor to the front door did another eye watering one which a Hippo would be pleased with!
So off to Dernford Mill after some big dace on the Granta river. Percy set the tone of the day. As I joked looking down on the sofa at some knickers...quite good ones actually!" I asked him...... They yours then Percy"? Percy grinned picked them up used them to wipe the turkey grease from his mouth and did a mock nose blow then slung them back on the sofa......nice. I must remember to ask Tracy if they were hers!
Graham Tweed - President CFPAS Ltd.

About Us

Cambridge Fish Preservation and Angling Society (CFPAS) was founded in 1885 – in those days we were known as The Jolly Anglers – and the first fishery the club leased was the Hundred Foot River at Earith.